Part 2 of a brief photographic essay of architecture and urban space in Havana, Cuba courtesy of Concrete Blonde. Again, the urban vocabulary of Havana is remarkably consistent: the street life of urban balconies, the use of balcony gardens in softening the urban streetscape, rooftop terraces, abundant use of urban sidewalk arcades, and the use of color.

Looking over a Havana neighborhood through an open window with the harbor in the distance.Havana street life above and below, courtesy of a ground-level retail shop and second floor balconies.A narrow shopping street in Havana, Cuba.A lavishly-vegetated garden in the courtyard of a public building in Havana, Cuba.Vegetation hanging from a second floor balcony soften the hard edges of the urban streetscape in Havana, Cuba.Upper-level balconies introduce additional street constitution and casual surveillance of the street in the urban environment of Havana, Cuba.Balconies and sidewalk arcades defining the street vocabulary of Havana, Cuba.A street space well-used by pedestrians in Havana, Cuba.A narrow street width in Havana, Cuba.Finally, a light well made of empty bottles at a local restaurant in Havana, Cuba; included here only because it’s so ingeniously cool.

Part 1 of a brief photographic essay of architecture and urban space in Havana, Cuba courtesy of Concrete Blonde. In terms of urbanism, the most interesting aspects of these photographs are: the street life of urban balconies, the use of balcony gardens in softening the urban streetscape, rooftop terraces, abundant use of urban sidewalk arcades, and the use of color. In terms of political ideology, it seems symbolic that many of the cars (most likely of origin in Eastern Europe) and best architecture (at least, in terms of design if not actual age) predates the Communist Revolution lead by Fidel Castro in 1959; make of that what you will. However, the result is an urban treasure trove awaiting re-discovery and historic rehabilitation.

Havana streetscape showing sidewalk arcades and second-level balconies.Rooftop terraces in Havana, Cuba.Heavily-vegetated balconies in Havana, Cuba.From this perspective, notice how the line of sight sneaks pass the corner of buildings to continue along the space of the street. Architects and planners ignore such nuances of the urban pattern at their peril.Fantastic mural incorporated into the design of an otherwise mundane Modern building.Contemporary pedestrian plaza, probably a conversion of an old tram/rail line running down the middle of the street. Though beautifully done, notice how empty the plaza appears during the middle of the day due to the generous street width, especially in comparison to the following photo of a heavily-populated street in Havana with a narrower street width.A typical street scene in Havana, Cuba.Churchyard plaza in Havana, Cuba.Urban balconies defining the facade of an early twentieth century (1930s?) building in Havana, Cuba.Sidewalk arcades, balconies, and rooftop terraces on another street in Havana, Cuba.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Havana, Cuba Photographic Essay coming soon on The Outlaw Urbanist!

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Dr. Mark David Major, AICP, CNU-A is an architect, urban planner and designer, entrepreneur, and researcher with several years of experience in the built environment, urbanism, business management, real estate development, and academia in Europe and the United States.

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